Friday, December 23, 2011

Gobi Man-what?

Happy Solstice! I'll share pictures from our Solstice Celebration with the pets next week. I'm too tired to sort through them tonight. So instead, I'll leave y'all with this post about my favorite Indian dish — Gobi Manchurian:

It's actually considered Indo-Chinese. But it's served in Indian restaurants, so I feel like it's okay to call it my fave Indian dish.

I first tried these fried cauliflower florets in spicy tomato sauce at Woodlands, a now-defunct totally-vegetarian Indian restaurant on Hacks Cross in Memphis. Y'all know I love fried food, and there's really no better vegetable than cauliflower (well, except for carrots). Plus, the spicy sauce really makes this dish special. When I saw that Robin Robertson had published her Gobi Manchurian recipe in last month's VegNews, I knew I must make it!

The batter is made from chickpea flour, and the cauliflower is breaded and fried in oil. Then you make a spicy tomato sauce using tomato puree, scallions, garlic, ginger, and spices. Oh, and there's sriracha in there. Gotta have sriracha in there. This stuff was amazing, even the next day when the fried cauliflower was kinda soggy.

On the side, I made the Savory Chutney Muffins from the Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions:

I used my homemade green tomato chutney instead of the mango chutney called for in the recipe, and I think that may have affected the texture. My chutney isn't very wet, so these muffins were a little dry. Delicious, but kinda dry. Besides chutney, these are made with tahini, whole wheat pastry flour, sesame oil, coriander, and cumin. They were tasty and the perfect accompaniment to spicy gobi manchurian. But next time, I'm adding extra liquid or fat for a moist muffin.

I am with you on Gobi Manchurian. I love it sooooo much! Is your green tomato chutney recipe posted, or will it be in the cookbook? I ask as I have some lonely green tomatoes which should be chutnified.

My name is Bianca ...

About Me

I'm a 9-year vegan, 19-year vegetarian from the Mid-South, not too far from the muddy banks of the Mississippi River. And that means cornbread, butter beans, and collard greens.
These days, I live in Memphis. Check out my cookbook — Cookin' Crunk. It's filled with yummilicious veganized soul food and country classics.